Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Series I love #1! Agatha Raisin - M. C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin is my Linus' blanket. I love her, her brutality and rudeness, she is so funny. Agatha is a 50 something PR guru who decides to early retire from her big London job and move to the idyllic Cotswold. However, she soon gets bored of the uneventful life of the countryside and finds herself involved in investigating crimes. She also falls in love with her neighbor, James Lacey, and goes through a lot of hassle with him through the books. The first novel of the serie, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, remains one of my favourites: Agatha unintentionally finds herself heavily involved in an homicide, first as a suspect, then as unofficial investigator. Agatha is trying to impress her fellow Carsely's inhabitants and to get them to notice her participating in a quiche local contest, but because her culinary skills are not her best talent, she decides to cheat and the all situation just become hilarious.

From book 15 onward, Agatha sets up her own official detective agency, but she doesn't lose her unorthodox detecting skills.

Agatha's books make me laugh out loud and every time I am in need of a "light" yet enjoyable read I turn to this despotic and noisey woman, a sort of Miss Marple of our days.

I have so far read 17 of the 27 books in the series, and my favourites are The Quiche of Death through which I first met Agatha, The Wizard of Evesham and The terrible tourist. If you want to start reading Agatha's adventures I'd suggest you start from the beginning and follow the books' order as her personal story develops throughout the series. Agatha is a right character and if you like a bit of humor and crime, she is the woman for you!